Monday, June 22, 2009

It's June 22nd. We are a little less than half way through the baseball season. I think that it's fair to start changing our assumptions about teams into facts. If you still suck 70 games into the season, why would you stop sucking all of a sudden? And if you are in the mix now, you should be able to hang around all year. So it's time to head back into the archives and dig up my preseason MLB predictions and analyze/change things. If you want to read them in their entirety and see what guest helper, Kenny Powers, had to say, the AL is here and the NL is here. By the way, if you even think that I'm going to not mention how my World Series pick, the Giants, are currently a playoff team (or at least very close), you are fucking nuts. I am one clairvoyant sumbitch. Let's start in the AL:

AL EastThen: Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Blue JaysNow: Swap the O's and JaysThoughts: I still think that the Yankees win the East once A-Rod figures things out at the plate. The Red Sox lineup really isn't that good eventhough they are loaded with starting pitching except for Brad Penny who sucks ass. The Rays are who I TOLD YOU THEY WERE. They had no chance this year. You can blame injuries all you want, but that is just an excuse. That team was a fluke. The Jays will slide. It's been the ultimate smoke and mirrors job north of the border this Spring.

AL CentralThen: Twins, Royals, Indians, White Sox, TigersNow: Tigers, Twins, Royals, White Sox, IndiansThoughts: I'm all over the place on this one. I did not see WhiteTrashlander and Eddie Jackson figuring out how to pitch. Miggy Cabrera has been a bit of a disappointment (he should be better than this). It appears that Joe Mauer can not be pitched to. The White Sox suck. I just don't understand the hope that the Indians are clinging to. They are losing games now in ways that are almost impossible. It's time to blow this thing up. I would get rid of that underachieving fag Sizemore first. Dude is not a superstar. By the way, in the initial post, Damman stated numerous times in the comments how good the Tribe's bullpen was going to be...nice call. Maybe you should start watching softball.

AL WestThen: Angels, Rangers, A's, MarinersNow: SameThoughts: The Angels will hold off Texas because their manager does not look like Tyrone Biggums. And then the Angels will do what they do best and get swept out of the playoffs by Boston. Josh Hamilton is being a real bitch this year on my fantasy team. I couldn't name one pitcher on the A's. Seattle starts Russell Branyan...they deserve to be in last place which is where they will eventually reside.

MVP then: Miguel Cabrera MVP now: Mark Teixeira narrowly over MauerCy Young then: CC Cy Young now: Roy HalladayManager then: Trey Hillman Manager now: Ron Washington's $400,000 crack partyRookie then: Matt Wieters Rookie now: same since I can't remember any other rookie in the AL other than Nick Adenhart and I don't see him taking this award homePlayoffs then: Yankees over Twins, Red Sox over Angels...Yankees over Red Sox Playoffs now: Swap the Tigers for the Twins and it's the same

NL EastThen: Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, NationalsNow: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, NationalsThoughts: The Mets just really aren't that good. They have a great pitcher and a few good hitters, but really nothing else. And Jerry Manuel is a nutjob. Did you know that the Phils were like 12-15 games over .500 on the road but had a losing record at home this year? What the fuck is that all about? How many times per day do you think that Bobby Cox daydreams of killing Jeff Francouer? The Nationals would win the division if they played the Yankees everyday. Dan Uggla might be the worst player in baseball.

NL CentralThen: Cubs, Reds, Cardinals, Astros, Brewers, PiratesNow: Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Astros, PiratesThoughts: The Brewers will go out and get a pitcher before the deadline is up. Ryan Braun seems to hate me because he hits at least 5 home runs during the week in which he faces my fantasy teams. When will the Cards ever pull off a deal to get Pujols some help? Even someone like Mark DeRosa would help them exponentially. I just don't see it this year from the Cubs. The pitching has been OK but the bullpen is horrendous. The hitting is rotten. They went what felt like an entire month never scoring more than 2 runs in a game. Joey Votto being a pussy killed the Reds' chances. The 'Stros and Buccos are just along for the ride.

NL WestThen: Giants, Dodgers, D-Backs, Rockies, PadresNow: Dodgers, Giants, D-Backs, Rockies, PadresThoughts: You all laughed when I picked the Giants to win the NL. But they have been a scrappy team this year with Lincecum and Cain being two of the best pitchers in the league. They still need another stick desperately (Aubrey Huff?) but I like their odds. The Dodgers have been outstanding in spite of their shaky starting pitching and very little power. Just goes to show how horrible the West truly is. I know nothing of the Diamondbacks other than Brandon Webb is a snatch. The Rockies suck...I hate Troy Tulowitzki. He runs like he needs a backiotomy. OK, the Padres are really bad but why would anyone ever throw a strike to Adrian Gonzalez? Boggles my mind.

I'm sticking with my Giants until they lose in the series to the Yankees. Not bad, as you can see. Fire away in the comments. Oh, and this is somewhat of a monumental post as this is The Money Shot's 800th career blog! Congratulations to the sexy blogger who runs this site. FYI, the three year blogiversary is coming up soon, too.

Damman will still say "we still hav a shot- nobody in the central has run away with it. Once we get healthy we will go on a run. Kerry wood blowing 2 saves this weekend was a fluke." this season couldn't ace started any better! Thank god your central picks were fucking awful!

Maybe I shouldn't doubt Ozzie, but since I can't understand him, I will. Do you really think that an idiot like Jim Thome can figure out what Ozzie says? Of course not. He probably just assumes that Ozzie wants to mow his yard.

Tony, the Twins are nothing more than an average team with him or without him. I also have to take away some votes from Mauer because there is a big difference between putting up in New York and Minneapolis. And this is why Morneau stealing the MVP from Jeter a few years ago still pisses me off.

Too bad Jonathan Sanchez went from awesome bargaining chip to terrible fifth starter this year. The Giants have lost 9 of his 12 starts this season.

By that same logic, the Yankees are probably still a pretty good team without Teixeira. They won 89 games last year without him, CC or Burnett so they may still be right around the same position had they not signed him in the offseason.